As is well known in the art, various medical and dental procedures require the mandible to be manipulated and held in one position. When the mandible is manipulated, the medical or dental practitioner often has to insert his or her fingers into the mouth causing discomfort to the patient. Even when the patient is anesthetized, this manipulation can become particularly burden-some during surgical procedures involving the mandible and/or the temporomandibular joint because during such procedures, the mandible is manipulated solely by hand. For instance, when arthroscopy is performed on the temporomandibular joint, prior to the actual surgery, the mandible is moved and positioned in order to allow the surgeon to visually inspect the joint for diagnostic purposes. Thereafter, the mandible is held in a stable position in order to permit the surgeon to perform and complete the surgery. As can be appreciated, such surgery is complicated by the fact that the mandible is positioned and held by an assistant under the direction of the surgeon. The present invention simplifies such surgery by providing a mandible manipulation device that can act as a surgical clamp for the mandible. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the mandible is held between a dental impression or a rubber mouthpiece, retained in an impression tray, and a padded mandible support. The tray and support are attached to an elongated frame that is adjustable to permit the impression tray and dental impression to be inserted into the mouth and the mandible support to be positioned under the mandible. The surgeon can manipulate the frame in order to view the temporomandibular joint during the inspection and diagnostic phase of the surgery. Thereafter, during the actual surgery, the device can be attached to an instrument support to hold the mandible in place. Thus, when a device in accordance with the present invention is used for such surgery, an assistant is not required to manipulate and hold the mandible. As can be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the present invention is also useful as a surgical clamp for the mandible during arthroscopy of the temporomandibular joint. Moreover, when used in a dental procedure, the mandible, being held within the device, can be manipulated without the practitioner inserting his or her hands into the mouth and causing the patient further pain and discomfort.
The present invention, although described above as a surgical clamp, is not intended to be so limited in its application. In fact, the present invention has application to any therapeutic procedure in which the mandible is required to be manipulated. For instance, the present invention could be used, after temporomandibular joint surgery, to operate the joint in a systematic fashion as physical therapy for the joint.